I stood in the darkened corridors of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Hundreds of people wander through the hallways, some alone, some couples, families on a vacation, and some in groups with a guide offering narratives of displays. All in hushed tones.

One of the first things that hits you is the enormity of each of the towers. The perimeter footprints of the tower’s beams are visible in the tour on the floor of the museum. Photos on the walls remind you of the impressive height of the buildings and how they would dominate the Manhattan skyline.

The Last ColumnPerimeter Footprints

We came to the sludge wall. This was built to keep the Hudson River out of the way. It was amazing to see the ingenuity used to make the original building feasible. Even more remarkable is the re-construction of these walls to make the rebuild of the southern tip of Manhattan possible. You just stand back and wonder how.

As we ambled through the tour, we come across relics from the scene of the collapse. Giant girders and beams made of 2” steel are bent and twisted, some into a horseshoe shape. You wonder what kind of force it would take to misshape these massive castings. We are allowed to run our hands over one of the girders laid out on our trail. We were reaching back and touching history.

There is an art piece on display the size of the side of a building, a wall with 1,113 tiles displaying all various shades of blue. It depicts interpretations of the color of the sky that morning. Behind the wall of blue tiles is a special room. It contains the remains of the 1,113 victims who have yet to be identified.

The guide finished our tour. She directed us toward the September 11, 2011 exhibition hall. This is a self-paced exhibition of artifacts and stories from the day. It starts with video screens playing tapes of TV’s initial reports from the early morning news programs. It tells the stories of flight attendants and passengers making phone calls to their loved ones back home from the doomed airliners.

Stories are told of the New York Firemen and Police Officers and their fearless efforts to go wherever they had to go to help save people trapped in the piles of rubble. 411 gave their life that day.

Ladder 3 crushed by falling debris

We stand next to Fire engines, ambulances and police cars that were pulled from under the rubble of the fallen buildings, smashed and obliterated by the tons of stone and steel that came crashing down. We walk past displays of shoes, shirts, papers, office debris, all sorts of evidence of the destruction, devastation, and loss of life of that day.

The Memorial

The air is somber. Conversations are hushed, there is a melancholic remembrance of September 11, a reverence toward all that was lost that day. An anger swirls inside. Awe and fascination clear the senses as you exit the beautiful museum building and look up at the first tower that has replaced that which was destroyed. You turn and look up at the other skyscrapers reaching into the blue skies. You take a deep breath and think to yourself. It’s a good day to be an American!

Thank you for sharing, T and J. I remember visiting New York for the first time shortly after 9/11. The people, the police presence, the protests against going to war. So much activity and yet, every New Yorker I came across or spoke to was so kind and caring. And it has been the same way on subsequent visits. They are so strong – so resilient – very nice.

Photo Gallery

The restaurateurs of 9th Avenue come out to share their fabulously diverse offerings

Photo by Berlin

2017 Rockettes and Supporting Cast

Jockey rider

Green Monster

Flier

Yellow Submarine

Kramer’s famous Nexus of the Universe, the corner of 1st and 1st on the Lower East Side

Inside Shimmels, change is slow.

Shimmel Knishery since 1910

Wooden Oak Bridge, Central Park

Lunch at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens Conservatory

Brooklyn Botanical Gardens Conservatory

Amateur Night at the Apollo

Mary – on the Hudson Bay

Vicki – Hudson Bay

Lunch with friends. Mary and Vicki

War Paint with my girls

Tip and Dave on the Green Monster – Fenway Park

Springsteen on Broadway

Springsteen on Broadway

Springsteen on Broadway

Surviving Statue

Statue of Liberty from Battery Park

Staten Island Memorial

Guili’s Pastry Shop

Black Gotham Experience

Browne Stationary

Spectator Boat

Roosevelt Island East Promenade

Asylum

Coney Island

Footpath

Dragon Boat Races

Columbus Circle at Night

Big Bird Central Park

Under the Bridge

Pink Umbrella

Red Umbrella

Gotham Pizza

Hudson at Night

50th Street Station

Besties

New Yankee Stadium

Gone are the corner deli’s with proprietary Pastrami. Replaced by Boars Head deli counters.

Staten Island Ferry

4th of July

Sailing to the Statue of Liberty

Established by Robert Bowne in 1775, Bowne Stationers grew as a financial printer throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1975, Bowne & Co. Inc. partnered with South Street Seaport Museum to open a 19th-century-style print shop at 211 Water Street in the historic Seaport district.